A method of making aerosol containers safe against accidental opening by small children has been to provide a safety cap covering the dispensing valve mechanism, which safety cap permits entry by the finger of an adult person for purpose of actuating the valve mechanism but which cannot successfully be entered by the finger of a very small child. Safety containers of this type are shown, for example, in the Corll U.S. Pat. No. 3,712,515.
It is essential in such a device, however, that either the safety cap be permanently secured to the container, or else the removal of the safety cap will result in removing the actuating valve mechanism as well.
Since products of this type are produced on a large volume basis, and it is inherently desirable to keep the cost of production low, there are severe limitations as to the cost of the materials that may be used and there are also severe limitations with regard to the dimensional tolerance of the various parts of the device that can be successfully achieved in the manufacturing operation. A commercially successful container, therefore, requires structural integrity that can be achieved within the available limitations of cost and dimensional tolerances.